new here, need help

First of all welcome, i only started this week too,

You could at more fruit to your meals these add calories and various vitiamins etc,

Wish i had the problem of being below my calories i'm usuallly over,

Welcome

It is important to eat a minimun of 1200 calories per day to avoid decreasing your metabolism and putting your body in starvation mode. Start by trying to have 300-400 calories per meal and add snacks. Example ( my menu for the today:
Breakfast
Wu-Yi - Tea, 1 cup 0 0 0 0 remove
General Mills Cereal - Cheerios, 1 cup(s) 100 calories
Generic - Milk - Fat Free Skim Milk, 1 cup 80 calories
Bananas - Raw, 1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long) 105 calories

Total 285 Consider adding an oz of almonds to cereal this will add an additional 160 calories

Lunch
Thomas' - multigrain english muffin, 1 muffin 150 calories
No Name - Cooked Ham Sliced, 1 slices 30 calories
Gulden's - Spicy Brown Mustard, 1 teaspoon 5 calories
sliced cheese, 1 piece 60 calories
Campbell's - Soup at Hand Classic Tomato (25% Less Sodium), 1 Container 120 calories

Total 365 calories

Dinner
Dunkin Donuts - Carmel Iced Latte Lite, 16 oz 80 calories
Dunkin Donuts - Egg White Turkey Flatbread Sandwich, 1 sandwich 280 calories

Total 360 calories

2 Snacks/ day ( can be more if hungry. Try to keep snacks under 150 calories)

Apples - Raw, with skin, 1 medium (2-3/4" dia) (approx 3 per lb) 72 calories
Plums - Raw, 0.5 fruit (2-1/8" dia) 15 calories
Nectarines - Raw, 1 fruit (2-1/2" dia) 60 calories

Total 147

Total for day 1157

Remember to count calories for juice if drank, gum chewed, vitamins taken, fiber etc. count all calories you put in your mouth. I am sure that you will reach 1200 calories.

Good luck on your weight loss journey




Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

Hi,
I just started yesterday on my diet. I need to lose about 70lbs. I have a several health problems that are not in my favor for loosing weight, but I am determined to lose these extra pounds. My doctor sd. that I need to eat 1200 calories a day. I did not even come close to that yesterday, I only managed to eat about 600 calories. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to eat 1200 calories? I thought that I was doing pretty good until I put in my meals on the calorie counter. I have cut out all of the soda and trying to drink a lot more water. I eat 3 meals a day. Is it bad for me to not eat enough calories? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

I find it surprising you ate 3 meals and only totaled 600 calories. That's very interesting, were they really meals or just parts of meals? I consider a meal as having a portion of everything you need for you RDA. I.E. carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals. If you aren't doing that, then maybe you should start planning out your meals ahead of time, that makes it much much easier. I plan my whole week out with about 100 cals as a fudge factor.
By the way, you need to lose 70 lbs and you're doctor put you on 1200 cals a day? That sounds a bit ambiguous to me (it may absolutely be correct and I may be just all wet, then again, it may not). IMHO I would go see a registered dietician. Just as a precaution. Doctors can make mistakes too (I know mine has). There's nothing wrong with questioning them, sometimes, especially when (these days) they see so many patients and have so little time to really focus the way we would like.

Hi Banks1850,
Yep, 1200 calories. I know it will take a while to lose 70lbs, but that is ok, it took a while to put it on too. I don't know if you mean that I should be getting more or less calories??? My "meals" are as you said, not really meals but parts of them. 1/2 bowl of Cereal for breakfast, tomato sandwich for lunch and then usually cereal again for dinner, except I did have 1/2 of a slice of pizza for dinner last night. I will try to plan out my meals and check the calories in them before I eat them, instead of after.

Thanks

I meant that seemed low. It may not be, but it's just an observation, without all you're numbers I'm just guessing.

I have lost four pounds in 9 days just eating the requirement fitnesspal has set up for me I even go over a bit sometimes. I have learned how to eat and suprisingly I eat alot, I snack several times througout the day and am still under by 65 calories. Its what you choose to eat....I choose to eat trim meal replacement bars, fruji concentrated fruit and vegetable bars....I am getting all my nutrients, fruits, veggies and lots of protein. LUV it!